Go Development MCP Server

The Go Development MCP Server is a comprehensive solution for integrating Go development workflows with AI assistants like Claude Desktop or other MCP-compatible tools. It enables AI assistants to compile, test, run, and analyze Go code directly through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Features

• Go Build: Compile Go code and receive detailed feedback

• Go Test: Run tests on Go code with support for coverage analysis

• Go Run: Compile and execute Go programs with command-line arguments

• Go Mod: Manage Go module dependencies (init, tidy, download, etc.)

• Go Format: Format Go code according to standard conventions

• Go Analyze: Analyze Go code for issues using static analysis tools

• Go Workspace: Manage Go workspaces for multi-module development (NEW!)

New in This Release

• MCP v0.29.0 Compatibility: Updated to use the latest Model Context Protocol v0.29.0

• Go Workspace Support: Complete workspace management for multi-module Go projects

• Project Path Support: All tools now support working with existing Go project directories

• Workspace-Aware Execution: All tools can operate within Go workspace context

• Strategy Pattern: Flexible execution strategies for code snippets vs. project directories vs. workspaces

• Enhanced Response Formatting: Better structured responses with natural language metadata

• Improved Error Handling: More detailed and helpful error messages

• End-to-End Testing: Comprehensive behavioral testing scripts to verify functionality

• Modern Testing Framework: New Go-based testing framework with parallel test execution

Related MCP server: Jotdown

Go Workspace Support

The server now includes comprehensive support for Go workspaces, enabling multi-module development workflows. This feature allows you to:

• Initialize Workspaces: Create new Go workspaces with go work init

• Manage Modules: Add, remove, and organize modules within workspaces

• Unified Operations: Run Go commands across all modules in a workspace

• Dependency Synchronization: Keep dependencies consistent across modules

• Workspace-Aware Tools: All existing tools (build, test, run, etc.) work seamlessly with workspaces

Workspace Commands

The go_workspace tool provides the following subcommands:

• init: Initialize a new Go workspace

• use: Add modules to an existing workspace

• sync: Synchronize workspace dependencies

• edit: View and modify workspace configuration

• vendor: Vendor all workspace dependencies

• info: Get detailed workspace information

Workspace Integration

All existing tools support workspace contexts through the workspace_path parameter:

{
  "tool": "go_build",
  "arguments": {
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/workspace",
    "module": "specific-module",
    "code": "package main..."
  }
}

Testing

The server includes comprehensive testing capabilities to verify that it works correctly with real Go projects. Testing is provided through two frameworks:

1. Go Testing Framework: Modern, parallel test framework using Go's native testing facilities and testify

2. PowerShell Testing: Legacy end-to-end behavioral tests (for backward compatibility)

The tests verify all input modes (code-only, project path, and hybrid) and ensure that the execution strategies work as expected.

Running the Tests

Go Tests (Recommended)

# Run all Go tests
cd go-dev-mcp
.\scripts\testing\run_tests.ps1 -TestType go -UseGoTests -WithCoverage

# Run with race detection
.\scripts\testing\run_tests.ps1 -TestType go -UseGoTests -WithRaceDetection

# Run directly with Go
go test -v ./internal/tools/...

PowerShell Tests (Legacy)

# Quick tests
cd go-dev-mcp\scripts\testing
.\basic\simple_test.ps1

# Comprehensive tests
cd go-dev-mcp\scripts\testing
.\core\all_tools_test.ps1 -Verbose

# Strategy-specific tests
cd go-dev-mcp\scripts\testing
.\strategies\hybrid_strategy_test.ps1 -Verbose

For detailed information about the testing framework, see the Testing Documentation.

The testing scripts are organized into categories:

• Basic tests: Simple, quick-running tests for sanity checks

• Core tests: Comprehensive tests covering all tools and input modes

• Strategy tests: Tests focused on specific execution strategies like hybrid execution

See the testing README for more details.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Go 1.21 or higher

• Git

Windows

Manual Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/MrFixit96/go-dev-mcp.git
   cd go-dev-mcp

2. Build the executable:

   go build -o go-dev-mcp.exe ./cmd/server

3. Move the executable to a location in your PATH or reference it directly in your Claude Desktop configuration.

Using WinGet (Coming Soon)

winget install go-dev-mcp

macOS

Using Homebrew (Coming Soon)

brew install go-dev-mcp

Manual Installation (macOS)

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/MrFixit96/go-dev-mcp.git
   cd go-dev-mcp

2. Build the executable:

   go build -o go-dev-mcp ./cmd/server

3. Move the executable to a location in your PATH:

   sudo mv go-dev-mcp /usr/local/bin/

Linux

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/MrFixit96/go-dev-mcp.git
   cd go-dev-mcp

2. Build the executable:

   go build -o go-dev-mcp ./cmd/server

3. Move the executable to a location in your PATH:

   sudo mv go-dev-mcp /usr/local/bin/

Claude Desktop Integration

To integrate with Claude Desktop, update your claude_desktop_config.json file:

Windows Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "go-dev": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\go-dev-mcp.exe",
      "args": [],
      "env": {
        "GOCACHE": "%LOCALAPPDATA%\\go-build",
        "LOCALAPPDATA": "%LOCALAPPDATA%",
        "GOPATH": "%USERPROFILE%\\go",
        "GOROOT": "%GOROOT%",
        "PATH": "%PATH%",
        "DEBUG": "*"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables Used:

• %LOCALAPPDATA%: Resolves to C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local

• %USERPROFILE%: Resolves to C:\Users\{username}

• %GOROOT%: Go installation directory (automatically set by Go installer)

• %PATH%: System PATH for Go binary access

Alternative using Go Environment Variables:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "go-dev": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\go-dev-mcp.exe",
      "args": [],
      "env": {
        "DEBUG": "*"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Note: The alternative configuration relies on Go's default environment detection. Go automatically uses %LOCALAPPDATA%\go-build for GOCACHE and %USERPROFILE%\go for GOPATH when not explicitly set.

macOS and Linux

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "go-dev": {
      "command": "/path/to/go-dev-mcp",
      "args": [],
      "env": {},
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Usage

Working with Code Snippets

All tools accept Go code directly through the code parameter:

// Use go_build to compile code
go_build(code: "package main\n\nfunc main() {\n\tfmt.Println(\"Hello World\")\n}")

// Run tests with go_test
go_test(code: "package main", testCode: "package main\n\nimport \"testing\"\n\nfunc TestHello(t *testing.T) {...}")

Working with Project Directories

All tools now support working with existing Go project directories through the new project_path parameter:

// Compile a project
go_build(project_path: "/path/to/your/go/project")

// Run tests in a project
go_test(project_path: "/path/to/your/go/project", verbose: true, coverage: true)

// Format all files in a project
go_fmt(project_path: "/path/to/your/go/project")

// Analyze a project for issues
go_analyze(project_path: "/path/to/your/go/project", vet: true)

Configuration

The server uses a configuration file located at:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\go-dev-mcp\config.json

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/go-dev-mcp/config.json

• Linux: ~/.config/go-dev-mcp/config.json

A default configuration file will be created on first run, which you can customize:

{
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "logLevel": "info",
  "sandboxType": "process",
  "resourceLimits": {
    "cpuLimit": 2,
    "memoryLimit": 512,
    "timeoutSecs": 30
  }
}

Security

The Go Development MCP Server runs commands in a sandboxed environment with:

• Process isolation

• Resource limits (CPU, memory, execution time)

• Temporary directory containment

• No network access by default

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Roadmap

• Add support for Go workspaces

• Implement Docker-based sandbox for stronger isolation

• Add debugging capabilities

• Support for Go race detector

• Improved error reporting with suggestions

Workspace Usage Examples

Basic Workspace Operations

Creating a New Workspace

{
  "tool": "go_workspace",
  "arguments": {
    "command": "init",
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/my-workspace",
    "modules": ["./module1", "./module2"]
  }
}

Adding Modules to Existing Workspace

{
  "tool": "go_workspace",
  "arguments": {
    "command": "use",
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/my-workspace", 
    "modules": ["./new-module", "../external-module"]
  }
}

Getting Workspace Information

{
  "tool": "go_workspace",
  "arguments": {
    "command": "info",
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/my-workspace"
  }
}

Multi-Module Development Workflow

1. Initialize Workspace Structure

# Create workspace directory
mkdir my-project-workspace
cd my-project-workspace

# Initialize with MCP
{
  "tool": "go_workspace",
  "arguments": {
    "command": "init",
    "workspace_path": ".",
    "modules": ["./api", "./client", "./shared"]
  }
}

2. Build Across All Modules

{
  "tool": "go_build",
  "arguments": {
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/my-workspace"
  }
}

3. Test Specific Module

{
  "tool": "go_test",
  "arguments": {
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/my-workspace",
    "module": "api",
    "coverage": true
  }
}

4. Synchronize Dependencies

{
  "tool": "go_workspace",
  "arguments": {
    "command": "sync",
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/my-workspace"
  }
}

Advanced Workspace Features

Workspace with Custom Code

{
  "tool": "go_run",
  "arguments": {
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/my-workspace",
    "module": "api",
    "code": "package main\n\nimport \"fmt\"\n\nfunc main() {\n    fmt.Println(\"Running in workspace context\")\n}"
  }
}

Vendor All Dependencies

{
  "tool": "go_workspace",
  "arguments": {
    "command": "vendor",
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/my-workspace"
  }
}

Format All Modules

{
  "tool": "go_fmt",
  "arguments": {
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/my-workspace"
  }
}

Error Handling and Troubleshooting

Common Workspace Issues

1. Missing go.work file: Use init command to create workspace

2. Module not found: Use use command to add modules

3. Dependency conflicts: Use sync command to resolve

4. Build failures: Check module-specific issues with targeted commands

Workspace Validation

{
  "tool": "go_workspace",
  "arguments": {
    "command": "info",
    "workspace_path": "/path/to/my-workspace"
  }
}

Returns detailed workspace structure and validation status.